


This Game We Play

by Mellanis



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Canon Timeline, Drama & Romance, During Canon, Fluff, Grumpy Old Men, M/M, Old Married Couple, Pokemon Fanfiction, hardenshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2018-04-25 01:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4940977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellanis/pseuds/Mellanis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two headstrong eco-terrorists, three rainy days, and one grand plan to unite said eco-terrorists.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Storm Strikes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I am alive! xD 
> 
> Just wanted to say I deleted "Her Shot At Victory" because I just wasn't feeling it anymore.  
> But without further ado... this hardenshipping junk! :DD

Maxie needed complete order. It was the foundation upon which he planned to build a fantastic new world. A world without water or any of its pesky annoyances. He was well aware that humans were composed of approximately 70% water but considered this a necessary evil. "When will the submarine be completed?!" He asked one of the grunts at their secret base. 

"In about... three days, sir!" the grunt replied briskly. Three days... it was risky to give their enemy Team Aqua such a large window of time.  


"I suggest a scouting party, sir. To determine if Team Aqua is making any headway..." Magma Admin Tabitha interjected, crossing his arms on the table. It wasn't a bad strategy, but as a great leader, Maxie considered all of his options: He had the Red Orb that was needed to awaken Groudon's primal form but no submarine to get to the legendary Land Pokemon. He could either wait around until the sub was finished, or he could listen to Tabitha's idea. 

"Tabitha and Courtney, you both control the base until I return. I will see for myself how our rival fares." His words stunned the others but Maxie wanted to see Archie's struggling for himself.  
As he boarded the helicopter, Maxie could not help but feel intense dread and anticipation. Was it possible that he feared Team Aqua's advancing power? Archie had become surprisingly effective at guiding his ragtag crew of pirates. No... this fear was deeper than that. It was like the jagged claws of a monster tearing at his insides. Maxie could only hope the feeling ebbed when he proved that Team Aqua was helpless to stop him...

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Anchors ahoy! A storm is brewin'!" One of the Team Aqua grunts shouted from the boat. Archie scratched his chin. It was strange, the way these storms had been raging on and off constantly. He wondered if it was due to Team Magma stealing the Red Orb from Mt. Pyre. "Maxie's managed to piss someone (or something) off again..." Archie chuckled to himself. But now that he thought of it, what had Maxie done with the Blue Orb? Surely he had taken it as well! "We will just take it back then!" the leader of Team Aqua murmured to himself.  


Archie was about to retreat to his room when he heard a mighty roar amid the howling winds and pelting rain. "What the--" He looked out at the distance to see a long, dark shape swirling in the air. Right in the eye of the storm, he noted. It was then he also realized something besides the massive shadow was trapped in the storm-- a solitary helicopter struggling to maintain power. "M-Maxie..?!" Archie sputtered as he recognized the Team Magma leader boarded on the aircraft.  


He watched in horror as the shadow (he figured it to be a Pokemon but he wasn't sure) flew straight at the helicopter and tore off the spinning blades that kept it airborne. The helicopter spun recklessly in the air for a moment, then dropped towards the ocean. "Oi! Get a boat ready for me!" Archie yelled, running onto the deck. Shelly nodded at him and dropped a small motorboat into the choppy waters. Maybe he could save that poor pilot... or Maxie. Just someone, Archie hoped.


	2. Adrift With The Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry this is out late! Life happens though and what can you really do? Thank you for waiting though ^_^)
> 
> Maxie realizes he is in a very dire situation... or is he? There are secrets to be found at the enemy base...

Maxie's head throbbed severely as he came to. The room he was in was dimly lit, with only the fading evening light diffusing the shadows dancing in his vision. "Wh-what is this place..?" the Team Magma leader uttered to himself. Maxie began to feel drowsy and tried to stabilize his sight, which was swerving from side to side as if he was still in the spinning helicopter of death. Where was he? Surely not at the Team Magma base for this room was drenched in... blue. Upon seeing the decor and pirate themed wallpaper, Maxie swiftly deduced that he was likely deep in the belly of Team Aqua.

But how? Had he crashed somewhere close to the enemy and they saw fit to kidnap him? The Team Magma leader rubbed his hands together in anxiety, suddenly remembering that he had been with a pilot. Where was the--

"Yer awake." Archie's voice softly came from the doorway. He was leaning against it with a casual air of easygoing, but Maxie knew his rival well enough to see signs that Archie was nervous. Archie's eyes flitting from window to window. His jaw silently working itself. Calloused and fidgeting fingers tucked behind muscular brown arms. "We were afraid ya wouldn't." The pirate said simply, eyeing Maxie with a flat gaze. To Maxie, it was slightly unsettling to see Archie so muted and controlled.

Maxie pulled himself from those thoughts and focused on obtaining answers. "Archie... you think that capturing me will stop my machinations?" He said peevishly, squinting at the broad man. "Because it will only delay the inevitable. Team Magma is swiftly gaining much ground and--" Archie cut him off by showing the palm of his gloved hand dismissively.

"Maxie... ye could've died. This isn't about our plans. This was about saving someone who means a lot to me." Archie closed his eyes and leaned his weight entirely on the door frame. Maxie affixed him with a look of disbelief, though his eyes were still closed and he did not see it. 

Maxie tried to process Archie's words, taking them at face value and trying to dissect them for a deeper meaning. But try as he might, he could not figure why Archie would consider him, his bitter rival, as 'someone who meant a lot.' "You... you care about me?" The Team Magma leader was surprised by the tenderness in his own voice, which reminded him of his youth. "No... this is wrong. This is a ploy, Archie! You're trying to trick me!" He snarled while making aggressive gestures at the pirate captain. "I know you better than this... you're just jealous because I am always one step ahead of you and your silly crew..." Maxie finished, saying 'crew' with a small hiss. 

Archie tried to keep the disappointment out of his expression, but he could not keep it out of his voice nor his words. "Maxie... I thought ye was supposed ter be the smart one." When neither of them spoke after that, Archie left somewhat sadly and closed the door behind him. 

"So... that's it? No retribution, no cheesy monologue about how what I am doing is wrong?" Maxie said aloud to himself more than Archie, his whole body quivering slightly. It left an ache in the pit of his chest that Maxie could not understand nor satiate. Archie had always left him feeling like that, however. The two of them had been bickering for quite some time now but Archie seemed to come out of the fights with his spirit unscathed and a smile readily on his face once more. Maxie had long concluded that Archie was a mystery he'd never debunk-- and that some things were better left unsolved. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( psst, the pilot that was with Maxie is fine! xD ))


	3. Maxie Tries To Socialize

After a while, Archie decided enough was enough and brought Maxie out of his isolated confinement. He gauged that Maxie could perhaps use a hearty meal with company to occupy his mind with something other than his grand plans for the world. It brought a small chuckle to Archie's lips, thinking of the fervor at which Maxie always pursued his goals. For a moment, he even let himself ponder how his rival might've fared in college before suddenly coming to the door of Maxie's prison and thus reality. "Ye in there still, Maxie?" He said, softly rapping on the metal door. 

While waiting for Maxie's silence to break, it occurred to Archie that he had forgotten to check Maxie for his belt of poke-balls or anything he could use to escape. Though he figured if Maxie had the means to escape, then he probably would've come over to a molten pile of metal that would've resembled a door. Archie shook his head to pull out of that train of thought and knocked again on the door. 

"Go away. I don't want to speak." Maxie's voice was haughty yet quiet, as if he was pouting. Archie suppressed a giggle and started to pull out the key. The thought of Maxie pouting was impossible, ridiculous, hilarious, and... _adorable_ , even. Though the pirate would rather tangle with Kyogre than admit to Maxie that he found him adorable or cute.

"Maxie. Ye gotta eat. I ain't gonna starve ye!" Archie said, turning the key into the lock. "We gotta keep ye alive for when we bring ye back to yer base fer humiliation!" He gave a belly laugh as he opened the door and caught Maxie glowering at him from a corner of the room. Archie stepped into the room, approaching Maxie slowly as if he were a dangerous animal and not his rival. Maxie made no move, instead remaining in the corner with his knees pulled up to his chest. An adoring sigh threatened to escape Archie's lips, and he fought it back with a gentle chuckle. "Ye look like a child, Maxie. " he paused to continue laughing. "...but why haven't ye brought out yer Pokemon, eh? I figured that'd be the smart thing ter do.." Archie arched his brow in curiosity. 

Maxie growled and looked away. "I will not eat. Nor risk my precious Pokemon being badly hurt." He opened his mouth to continue speaking until Archie lifted him up by his arm and started to pull him out of the room. "I s-said-- aah!" Maxie stammered, his glasses sliding down his nose slightly in outrage. "Archie!" He hissed, dragging his feet on purpose. Archie snickered to himself and pulled Maxie closer, till the Team Magma leader was beside him. Sensing the tension in Maxie's arm, Archie's grip relaxed a bit, and let Maxie linger behind him a little more.

Archie brought the two of them into a bigger part of the ship, what could be called the dining hall. Aqua grunts left and right were feasting, Shelly was leaning against one of the walls lazily and Matt was in the kitchen sampling of the poor chefs' wares early. When Archie and eventually Maxie came into the dining hall, the room grew a little quieter. Some grunts and Shelly were staring at the two. Somewhat consciously Maxie pushed his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat. Despite being surrounded by Team Aqua and held deep in their base, Maxie was not as distressed anymore. Perhaps it was the more open space they were in? Either way... he looked away and decided to let Archie do the talking. 

"I brought Maxie out ter eat. Now I know he's the Team Mag--" Small boos rippled through the crowd but Archie spoke over them. "I know _who he is_ but let him eat here. He's human too yer know." Archie looked at Shelly from the other side of the room, hoping she'd offer some semblance of support. His heart sank a little when even she was giving him a peculiar look. "Maxie, ye got anything te say? Try ter speak te them?" Archie looked at Maxie, who was still looking away.

Of course Archie wanted him to speak to his crew-- it was a good humiliation tactic. Maxie cleared his throat, deeply exhaling as well. "I don't expect any of you to care what I say, so I'll just keep it brief. I want my Pokemon to be fed as well and for us to have a dignified setting to eat. Is that understood?" Archie nodded gravely and looked back at his lieutenant in the other side of the room. "Also... why is everyone--" Maxie began, before Matt came bursting out of the room with what had to be shovelfuls of food.

"H-hey boss, I was just about to..." Matt began to say, before his eyes rested on what Shelly and the crew were fixated on. "Uh... Archie... boss... sir?" Matt cleared his throat, a small giggle stifled. Archie looked up from the ground and returned Matt's giddy stare with a confused one of his own. "W-why... are you holding his hand?" Matt finally said, the held back laughter bursting from his lips. In fact, Matt's laughter seemed to be slowly spreading to the rest of Team Aqua, even as both Maxie and Archie blushed and pulled their hands away.

"This is what I get for letting you drag me further into your base..." Maxie growled impetuously, before pulling away entirely from Archie. The sailor made no effort to follow him but sighed and went to get his and Maxie's food.


	4. A Romantic Dinner: End of the First Day

Maxie was sitting in his room, quietly eating alongside his beloved Pokemon when without warning Archie sat across from them. The Magma Leader looked up slowly at Archie as if unsure of what the other's intentions were. He thought he'd have been at least a little safer from the lumbering man's presence here-- though it was not to be apparently. "Haven't you humiliated me enough? Or is there more yet you've got to fling at me?!" Maxie growled, trying to appear threatening but coming out more like a grumpy Camerupt.

Archie looked sheepishly at Maxie and set his own plate onto his lap. "Maxie... I wasn' tryin' to _embarrass_ ye, I was tryin'..." the words seemed to stick and coagulate, try as Archie might to speak them. "Well I was tryin'... ter change yer mind, Maxie." He coughed uncomfortably as Maxie arched an unamused brow but left his general expression the same neutral look. At least the Pokemon weren't staring-- that would banish Archie's wits faster. "Doncha think we've let this carry on fer a bit too long?" he added a bit more quietly, hoping there was still some reasoning within that wicked sharp mind of Maxie's. The intellectual that Archie adored was the same man who was also very stubborn and always quite contrite to give up on a plan, even if it started to look foolish or fall apart.

"Nothing simply 'carries on' Archie..." Maxie finally replied after a moment that was far too long in Archie's mind. "Either someone puts effort into the idea or it shrivels and dies from a lack of concern." He pushed up his glasses absently, and Archie had to repress a giggle. Too cute, even when posturing his own philosophies! ...Archie coughed softly and continued to listen, if only to let Maxie release some of that hot air. "Why... You can't talk of me quitting when you and your Aqua lackeys still gallivant around with plans of your own!" the smaller man hissed, sneering and still attempting to look at least a little threatening. He had no idea Archie was thinking of how cute it was when Maxie's nose scrunched up in that manner. 

Archie did let loose a chuckle this time, the sound low but gentle. "Maxie... do ye really not know me that well by now?" He said, setting his plate back down after a bite. "My only plans as of this momen' is ter try an' stop ye from blowin' up the world or somethin'!" He said, gesturing his hands into the motion of something huge exploding. "I'd like ter believe that yer crew and ye aren't fully aware of the consequences ye might bring." Maxie opened his mouth to speak but Archie knew he wasn't finished. There was a storm in his heart, and in his mind. He had things he wished to articulate-- and now was his chance. "Yer no complete fool Maxie... let's just call this quits, eh?"

The Aqua Leader paused to let his words sink in, watching as Maxie looked away and stroked his chin. He wondered if Maxie's skin was really as soft as some said it was. After a few seconds of indulging that train of thought, Archie shook his head lightly and focused back upon Maxie. Maxie, who was still considering his words it seemed. Archie decided that he'd take another, if somewhat foolish, leap of faith. "And ehhh... Maxie..?" The Aqua Leader rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "I was thinking back in the dinin' room..." Maxie turned to face Archie again, his expression mostly unreadable. It wasn't the same hardened stare Archie had come to expect regularly, nor the look where the sheen of his glasses covered Maxie's eyes mostly. It was just... well to Archie it looked more vulnerable than angry. "...What if we uh... retired from this business together, eh?" He inwardly cursed at his own wording, hoping that he hadn't just mucked up what might be a prime chance to ask Maxie some things.

Maxie raised his brow again, this time amused if nothing else. The corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly into some thin smirk. "This business..." He repeated, clicking his tongue quietly against the roof of his mouth. It was almost as if he was taking this long to respond purposefully! ...Or perhaps Archie realized he was being a little impatient. "I still don't understand you, Archie." He finally responded, surprising Archie when he called him by name. "You were my biggest rival... but now you fear the world's end from our plans and you wish to... retire...? With me?" Maxie laughed-- it wasn't quite the warm sound Archie remembered. In fact, it rather chilled him slightly. Was Maxie truly too far gone to reason?

"Archie..." Maxie suddenly said in a soft voice as Archie stood up uncomfortably, his plate only half-cleared. "...why with me? You have your crew... why not retire with them? Why..." the man paused, brows furrowing in inner conflict. "...Why me, Archie? I feel I understand you even less now..." Maxie wanted to understand him? Archie looked away, face flushing ever so slightly.

"Maxie I..." Archie swallowed, his throat dry. "I love ye, Maxie. I jus' don't want ye ter get hurt or killed because of some silly plans." Archie turned before he could see Maxie's expression and left. Archie noticed he'd been doing this a lot, mostly to Maxie. He needed to get back to work anyways though, he told himself as his heart hammered in his broad chest.


	5. Clear as Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College is fun, folks. So is a piss-poor emotional state. BUT I'M BACK!

Maxie wasn't sure how long he'd slept, since there were no clocks in this cursed prison of his. He opened one eye warily and scanned for any signs of Magma fools in the room. When there seemed to be none, he slowly pulled up away from the mattress he'd been lying upon. Wait... the mattress? Maxie wasn't sure when he'd been placed atop this admittedly comfortable mattress nor when the blankets had been in place, but the thought was appreciated even begrudgingly. "Mmngh... I must have slept late..." Maxie growled, feeling around for his glasses. Where were they anyways? It's not as though he had been foolish enough to fall asleep with them on but neither would he have put them somewhere they would have become lost. "...where are my accursed glasses?!" the Magma leader squinted and began crawling around on all fours to look.

He spent a few more minutes looking for them when the door opened suddenly. "Maxie what are ye doin'?" Archie crossed his arms, looking slightly amused and concerned all the same. He was about to pull Maxie off the floor until the other looked up at him while squinting. "...oh. Yer glasses." Archie said, smiling sheepishly with a quiet sigh. "Since ye had no where ter sleep, Shelly and I got ye a mattress and some blankets. Guess I forgot that I took yer glasses t--" Archie was interrupted when Maxie suddenly scrambled to his feet, looking more than slightly panicked.

"You did WHAT?!" Maxie was suddenly shouting. If he'd been wearing his glasses, they would have tilted slightly off-kilter by this point. Archie covered the smile blooming on his face with a hand loosely, trying not to dwell on that thought. "Archie, I cannot... I cannot believe this!" Maxie continued, folding his arms behind his back and walking closer to the Aqua leader. "Why would you do something that is a deliberate violation--" he inhaled deeply, groaning as he then exhaled. As he regained composure he pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up to Archie with the unimpressed expression the Aqua leader was more familiar with. "Where are my glasses, Archie? The great Maxie cannot be seen without his glasses." His gaze fell off to the side. "...the great Maxie cannot see much without those glasses either."


End file.
